Thank you for all the thoughtful 'Get Well' cards and emails and tweets and comments and texts and phone calls over the last 2 months. They meant/mean so much to me. I'm beyond grateful to have YOU in my life.

Love is the best medicine.

It feels good to be back. I'm still on the prednisone (and holy hell has it made me gain weight!), but I can breathe. Breathing is kinda important, yeah?

So, anywhoodles, enough about me.

HOW ARE YOU?

Oh, how I've missed you.

Also, it has been brought to my attention that just before I got sick, I promised to do a post on:

description, metaphors, similes and such.

Thing is, I haven't written it yet.

And, due to being so sick for so long, I'm behind on...everything.

Also, those are some broad, deep topics, yes?

So, I thought I'd break it down, make it a series of posts.

And I think starting off with Creative Thinking is how I shall begin.

Why? Because to write inspired, non-cliched description/metaphors/similes one must...think creatively.

Right?

Right.

So let's do this thing.

(meaning, I'm going to write this right now, right here in Blogger-compose, hit 'post', and hope it makes sense and is typo-free. o_0) (but you know that's how I write all my posts, so, yeah, you're used to me and my wicked ways by now.)

Creative Thinking for Writers in 5 Easy Steps by Lola Sharp

1) No Negative Self-Talk. Creativity requires freedom. YOU ARE CREATIVE and YOU ARE BRILLIANT in your own special way. It is born within us ALL. Give yourself the freedom to play, to try new things, to live without fear or shame, to be unique.

2) Read, Write and Study Poetry (no one ever has to see it). Play. With words.

3) Start and Maintain Lists of 'Favorite Evocative Words'. Be creative with these lists and continue to add to them.

Maybe you just like the sound of the word, or the look. (I love the words rutabaga and kookaburra, for example. I love the way they move in my mouth and the way they sound.) Or perhaps you love the image the word invokes. Feel free to make words up! (those are my favorites) Pay attention to their rhythms, cadence, sounds, shapes, and how they make you feel, as much as their definition, meaning.

List Two: Make a list of STRONG, ACTIVE Verbs

Now let's go deeper, let's make at least SIX more lists (of words) separated by the FIVE senses (plus). Working on these lists will help you become more observant, more thoughtful.

List on Sight...Practice and exercise your eyes (and your other senses): when you look at something, what do you really see? Look at, say, an orange...or an ashtray, or a chair, a person. Take 15 minutes and describe it visually in a list. Go deeper. Now compare it to other things.

Be original, play with it. Is it a pink sky? Nah. Perhaps it is a cotton candy sky or a flamingo sky or a mango sky or a Pepto-Bismal sky or a strawberry milkshake sky?

Word List: Sound Imagery Words/Onomatopoeia...what is the sound of (fill in the blank)...? Make lists. Made up words are especially useful here. PLAY!

4) Create a Creative Space: Surround yourself with inspiration. Make it special, colorful (or not) and uniquely yours. Write in bed if it makes you happy. (I often do!) Play music or work in silence. Tape images to your walls. Whatever works for you.

5) Carve Out TIME (preferably daily, but whatever works for YOU). Creativity is smitten with solitude. Nurture yourself with creative writing time. Free-write a bit each week by hand.

Okay, that's enough for today. We'll go deeper soon.

But, I hope you find these tips and exercises helpful.

To my fellow American friends, have a safe and FUN holiday weekend! And for everyone else...ditto, minus the 'holiday'!

May your pen be mighty

About Me

Lola Sharp

My name is Lola. (I'm not a showgirl) Yes, L-O-L-A Lola. It's the least of my worries. Let's move on, shall we?
This blog is mostly about my misadventures on the journey to publication and beyond. My passion for lush prose, quirky characters, art, music, literature, performing arts and anything creative will be a major theme here. This journey of mine will not always be pretty. Much like rubbernecking a train wreck, I know sometimes you just can't help but look at the carnage that is often my life. So strap on your neck brace, helmet and 5-point harness and come along for the ride!
Licentia poetica.